Oct. 19, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK —The University of Iowa men’s tennis team will travel to Norman, Okla., for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regionals. Action will start in Norman Oct. 21st, and conclude the 24th.
HAWKEYE COMPETITORS —Marc Bruche, Will Vasos, Austen Kauss, and Jonas Dierckx will compete for Iowa in the main draw, while Garrett Dunn, Chase Tomlins, Mitch Beckert, Joey White, and Jeroen Gortworst will be in pre-qualifying.
BRUCHE WINS NORTHWESTERN INVITE —Junior Marc Bruche went 4-0 at the Northwestern Invitational, claiming the Flight A Championship. Bruche opened with a victory on Friday, and two victories Saturday to reach the finals. In the finals match, Bruche defeated Northwestern’s Sidarth Balaji 7-6 (2), 7-5 to bring home the title. It was the first tournament victory this fall season for Bruche, who owns an 8-2 record at the No. 1 singles position.
IOWA FARES WELL AT NU —The Hawkeyes had 11 singles victories at the Northwestern Invitational, with two wins apiece coming from Jonas Dierckx, Mitch Beckert, and Jeroen Gortworst.
GOING STRONG —The Hawkeyes finished 13-10 overall and 4-6 in Big Ten Conference play in 2010, marking the third consecutive year Iowa has finished with at least 12 victories. Iowa was ranked 60th nationally in the final ITA Division I poll and earned a No. 48 ranking at one point in the season. As a team, Iowa defeated three ranked opponents. Iowa knocked off Purdue in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament before falling to second-seeded Illinois.
HEAD COACH Steve Houghton —Steve Houghton, the dean of Big Ten tennis coaches, is in his 30th year as head coach of the Hawkeyes. He has compiled a career record of 323-328 (.496), recording the most wins of any coach in Iowa men’s tennis history. Houghton recorded his 300th win at Indiana State Feb. 6, 2009. His best season came in 1984 when Iowa won a school-record 21 matches and two Hawkeyes earned all-Big Ten honors. Four of Houghton’s athletes have also been selected Big Ten Sportsman of the Year. He became the winningest coach in Iowa tennis history in 1992 and is a member of the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame. While playing at Iowa, Houghton had a career winning percentage of .727 (40-15), second best in Iowa history.
HOUGHTON ON ITA REGIONALS —“This is one of the premier fall tournaments for us. We’re going to see good teams and good players, but I’m very confident in this team’s ability following the Northwestern showing.”